Happened to me age 16. Before that I believed said my prayers etc then I started learning about Biology and Evolution and just about the world really.

I've never believed since it's taken me a good many years to come to terms with my atheism, I wanted to believe in a higher being but the rational side of my brain could not. I go to church with my DP now and think "you all believe all this don't you? You all actually believe you are eating the body of Christ?"

Anyway I have no words of advice just that I have accepted and am at peace with being an atheist, I'm still a good person.

I know it may not be welcome but I genuinely want to congratulate you on your realisation.

Life without a God is far from hollow and empty. It is the opposite in fact. You are free to appreciate the world without the blinkers of organised religion.

You can see just how tiny and insignificant this planet we live on is. And yet how incredible and amazing every aspect of life is. That people do good things on a daily, hourly, minute basis NOT because they want to go to an imaginary heaven but because people are inherently good.

Remember the 'Footprints in the Sand' thing? When He's carrying you you can't find Him beside you.

I had a long period when I felt l couldn't believe. Looking back, it was a time when my faith changed from 'something I always had and took for granted' to 'something I decided to seek out and follow for myself'. It's much firmer and deeper now.

My advice would be to tell God how you feel. Don't be polite. He's a big God, He can take it.

I can't identify with your experience, as a lifelong atheist, but I hope speaking from this side of things, I can reassure you. Having no god/religious belief doesn't have to be lonely or non-spiritual.

In fact I think it is far more amazing, gratifying and mindblowing to look at the universe as a wonder of science - that is far more beautiful to me than to think that someone all-powerful (so who could just do anything they liked anyway) just made it.

And it is far more valuable to me that so many people are simply good and kind because it's in their hearts, rather than because of some teachings about what you have to do to get to heaven.

You can still go to church if you like, if you enjoy the company, singing, the beauty of the building, the rituals or whatever. I very much think that quite a few people who go to church don't actually believe (and possibly some who are in senior positions in the church - after all once it's someone's career, it may not be that easy to walk away even after a situation like yours, which statistically must happen to some of them).

If there is a "way forward", I think it is to seek goodness, beauty, enlightenment and all that is rewarding, for its own sake and for the sake of human happiness, while we are here.

In your opinion. I lost my son from a brain tumour 3 weeks ago and my faith has greatly helped me including the parish priest. I believe everyone has the right to believe or not without being made to feel stupid.

OP, I had a very sudden realisation that god and religion was all fake, a few years ago. Up until this, I'd been Christian, born again and everything. I got depressed so much that I went on medication for it. Didn't see the point in anything, almost craved the "not existing" that dying now meant. Thankfully I worked through it, got over it (thanks prozac!) and now I couldn't be happier. I was so blinkered and ignorant and almost conned before!

It might be really tough to first come to that realisation, but you'll be fine.

Hmmm. Could you just have lost faith in the manner you believed not in the concept of a god?

I find it very easy to believe in something greater that is generally good and pray to it regularly. Oddly it's because of science and nature and things that I'm pretty convinced He exists. I'm cofe and attend church but apart from loving churches as buildings I've never really felt affinity to that style of belief.

What exactly don't you believe? A church service never floats my boat really but staring out to the ocean proves it. Dunno if makes any sense.....?

I no longer believe in God or Jesus. I believe that Man created the concept of God to explain Man's experience on earth. I believe that Jesus was either made up or was a revolutionary preacher. Christianity emerged due to Emperor Constantine who promoted it for political reasons.

Man created God and the religions that promote God.

I don't want to believe any of this but I know in my heart that it's true.

Something very similar happened to me this summer. I got very depressed, but also have found a new rationalism.

I tried to stop being part of an organised religion but strangely my (v v atheist) DH encouraged me...

All the v positive aspects of my religion are still there (the dignity of each individual/doing unto others/reflecting and reassessing every thing once a week in a formal service) are still very important to me. I did get a bit cross with myself thinking that if i wasn't religious I could have been ruthless and rich by now!

All the community things are still there too - all the supporting others through joyous moments and sadness in their lives/ all the endless but brilliant sponsored walks/marathons etc. Of course, all these things can be found in the secular world.

Also, I like being in the minority - whilst all the clever rational people happily know that there is nothing, my little bit of hope that all this is not in vain and that we try and reach out to others to make the world a better place, all that is just about there... Would I be burnt at the stake for my (old) religion? No. Do i admire those who have? Absolutely. Will I try and be a little bit better tomorrow than I was today? Well, I'll give it a go.

Oh, and I love a good hymn. And i love the fact that there is strength in weakness...

I have lost my relationship with Jesus I have tried to tell myself to just keep going through the motions but I can't take communion as it would just feel so wrong.

I keep telling myself it's just a phase and all I have to do is pray and everything will fall into place but I just feel that it won't ever be the same again. Something inside me has made a permanent shift.

This all took place after Lent. I had a good Lent and prayed and stuck to my Lenten promises but I felt absolutely nothing at all when Easter came and it all went downhill from there. I have felt hollow and empty ever since.

Recently I had a friend who declared he no longer believes in God, which I'm finding hard to understand as we grew up in church together from very young, he was vey active in church and even introduced his wife to the faith. I just want to understand from those that use to believe did something happen why you feel that way? How now do you make sense of the world? How do you deal with life's ups and downs? Can you honestly say that you are fulfilled and hopeful of the future?

OP you say you lost your relationship. Can you think of a time when you had a relationship and what was different from then and now? Have you ever considered trying other churches? Sometimes churches with rituals etc can just be that. A church with a different worship experience might help you find Him again.